was suspended, with countries unable to reach an agreement on financing.
Experts familiar with the negotiations say major parties have now moved closer together on key issues as new talks begin, though compromises were still being sought. “There are several countries who are looking for some concessions to be made, but at the end of the day what is really important is that the treaty doesn’t get too watered down,” she says, noting that one attempt to exclude fishing from the treaty had already been defeated.
According to Greenpeace, 11 million square kilometers of the ocean must be protected every year between now and the end of the decade if a target of protecting 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030 – known as “30 by 30” – is to be met.